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This article is about Kadesh in the lands of the Amurru, bordering on Damascus Syria up to Hammath; see also Kadesh (South of Israel)
Kadesh (South of Israel)

Kadesh , also known as Kadesh-Barnea , was a place in the south of History of ancient Israel and Judah.Moses subsequently sent envoys to the King of Edom from Kadesh , asking for permission to let the Israelites pass through his terrain....
 orKedesh
Kedesh

The ruins of the ancient Canaanite village of Kedesh are located within the modern Malkia in Israel on the Israeli-Lebanon border....
 Kadesh (also Qadesh) was an ancient city
Cities of the ancient Near East

Uru was the Sumerian language term for a city or city state, written with the cuneiform ideogram URU .In Akkadian language and Hittite orthography, URU became a determinative sign denoting a city, or combined with KUR "land" the kingdom or territory controlled by a city, e.g....
 of the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
, located on or near the headwaters or ford of the Orontes River
Orontes River

The Orontes or ?A?i is a river of Lebanon, Syria and TurkeyIt was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius....
 It is surmised by Kenneth Kitchen to be the ruins at Tell Nebi Mend, about southwest of Homs
Homs

Hims Hims did not emerge into the light of history until the 1st century BCE at the time of Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Royal Family of Emesa who gave the city its name....
 (ca. ) near Al Qusayr in what is now western Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 but is located in the text of the inscriptions at the battle of Kadesh as near Tunip
Tunip

Tunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350 BC-1335 BC, , Amarna letters Text corpus. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning....
 in the land of the Amurru.






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This article is about Kadesh in the lands of the Amurru, bordering on Damascus Syria up to Hammath; see also Kadesh (South of Israel)
Kadesh (South of Israel)

Kadesh , also known as Kadesh-Barnea , was a place in the south of History of ancient Israel and Judah.Moses subsequently sent envoys to the King of Edom from Kadesh , asking for permission to let the Israelites pass through his terrain....
 orKedesh
Kedesh

The ruins of the ancient Canaanite village of Kedesh are located within the modern Malkia in Israel on the Israeli-Lebanon border....
 Kadesh (also Qadesh) was an ancient city
Cities of the ancient Near East

Uru was the Sumerian language term for a city or city state, written with the cuneiform ideogram URU .In Akkadian language and Hittite orthography, URU became a determinative sign denoting a city, or combined with KUR "land" the kingdom or territory controlled by a city, e.g....
 of the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
, located on or near the headwaters or ford of the Orontes River
Orontes River

The Orontes or ?A?i is a river of Lebanon, Syria and TurkeyIt was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius....
 It is surmised by Kenneth Kitchen to be the ruins at Tell Nebi Mend, about southwest of Homs
Homs

Hims Hims did not emerge into the light of history until the 1st century BCE at the time of Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Royal Family of Emesa who gave the city its name....
 (ca. ) near Al Qusayr in what is now western Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
 but is located in the text of the inscriptions at the battle of Kadesh as near Tunip
Tunip

Tunip was a city/'city-state' in western Syria during the 1350 BC-1335 BC, , Amarna letters Text corpus. The name "Syria" did not exist, though Assyria was beginning....
 in the land of the Amurru. Kadesh was the target of military campaigns by most of the pharoahs of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

The Eighteenth Dynasty is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt. As well as a number of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, it included Tutankhamun, whose tomb, uncovered by Howard Carter in 1922, was one of the greatest of all archaeological discoveries, being completely undisturbed by tomb robbers....
 and one of many outlying vassals won by the southerly encroachments of the Hittite Empire between 1500 and 1285 BC. Between 1504 and 1492 BC Thutmosis I campaigned north into Syria against the Mitanni a vassal of the Hittites and along with Aram an ally of Kadesh. In 1479 BC Thutmoses III fought against the king of Kadesh in the Battle of Meggido. In the time of Hatshepsut there were no campaigns against Kadesh as she was focused on developing trade across the Red Sea and southward. Although Amenophis II campaigned in the djadi from then on until the reign of Haremhab 1319-1307 for a century and a half Cannan was in virtual rebellion and the Egyptians could do little about it. In 1306 BC Seti I suceeds in taking the city. In 1274 BC, the fifth year of Ramesses' reign, he led a large force of chariot
Chariot

The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd millennium BC....
s and infantry to retake the walled city. In a meeting engagement
Meeting engagement

A meeting engagement , a term used in warfare, is a combat action that occurs when a moving force, incompletely deployed for battle, engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place....
, the Battle of Kadesh
Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, in what is now the Syrian Arab Republic....
, the two forces clashed in what is widely regarded as the largest chariot vs. chariot battle (5,000—6,000 between both sides) in history on the plain south of the city and west of the Orontes River.

History

It was first occupied during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Kadesh is first noted as one of two Canaan
Canaan

Canaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt....
ite cities (the other being Megiddo
Megiddo (place)

Megiddo is a hill in modern Israel near the Kibbutz of Megiddo , known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance.In ancient times Megiddo was an important city state....
) that led a coalition of city-state
City-state

A city-state is an independent country whose territory consists solely of a single major city and the area immediately surrounding it. Examples include the city-states of ancient Greece , the Phoenician cities of Canaan , the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia , the Mayans of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica , the central Asian cities along the Silk Roa...
s opposing the conquest of the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
 by Thutmose III
Thutmose III

Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh....
. In mounting this opposition, Kadesh (known as Qidshu in the Akkadian language
Akkadian language

Akkadian or Assyrian-Babylonian is a Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian language, an unrelated language isolate....
 Amarna letters
Amarna letters

The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Ancient Egypt administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom....
) was probably guided by the ruler of Mittani, Egypt's primary foreign rival in control of the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
. Defeat in the subsequent Battle of Megiddo
Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)

The Battle of Megiddo was fought between Ancient Egypt forces under the command of the pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh....
 ultimately led to the extension of Egyptian hegemony over the city, as well as the rest of southern Syria. Correspondence between the ruler of Kadesh and the pharaoh Akhenaten
Akhenaten

Akhenaten , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, who died 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheism worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this....
 is preserved amongst the Amarna letters. The names of three kings of Kadesh survive from contemporary sources: Suttarna (fl. c. 1350 BC); Etakkama
Etakkama

Etakkama, as a common name, but also, Aitukama, Atakama, Etakama, and Itakama is the name for the 'mayor' of Qid?u, of the 1350 BC-1335 BC Amarna letters Text corpus....
 (c. 1340s) and Ari-Teshub (fl. c. 1330-1325).

The city was captured by the great pharaoh Seti I
Seti I

Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. As with all dates in Ancient Egypt, the actual dates of his reign are unclear, and various historians claim different dates, with 1294 BC – 1279 BC and 1290 BC to 1279 BC being the most commonly used by scholars today...
 during his campaign to Syria. Kadesh had been lost to Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 since the time of Akhenaten
Akhenaten

Akhenaten , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, who died 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheism worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this....
. Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun , Egyptian language was an Ancient Egypt Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt , during the period of History of Egypt known as the New Kingdom....
 and Horemheb
Horemheb

Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt from 1319 BC to late 1292 BC, although he was not related to the preceding royal family and is believed to have been of common birth....
 had both failed to recapture the city from the Hittites
Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a Hittite language of the Anatolian languages of the Indo-European languages family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca....
. Seti I was successful here and defeated a Hittite army that tried to defend it. He triumphantly entered the city together with his son Ramesses II
Ramesses II

Ramesses II was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as Ancient Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh....
 and erected a victory stela at the site. His success was only temporary. As soon as Seti I
Seti I

Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. As with all dates in Ancient Egypt, the actual dates of his reign are unclear, and various historians claim different dates, with 1294 BC – 1279 BC and 1290 BC to 1279 BC being the most commonly used by scholars today...
 returned to Egypt, the Hittite king, Mursilis II, marched south to take the town of Kadesh on the Orontes River. Once taken, Kadesh became the stronghold of the Hittite defenses in Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, although the Hittites ruled through a viceroy in Carchemish
Carchemish

Carchemish was an important ancient city of the Mitanni and Hittites empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an Battle of Carchemish between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible....
.

Battle of Kadesh


The city is best known as the location of one of the best documented battles of the ancient world, the Battle of Kadesh
Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, in what is now the Syrian Arab Republic....
, staged between the superpowers of the 13th century BC: the Egyptian
New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
 and the Hittite
Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a Hittite language of the Anatolian languages of the Indo-European languages family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca....
 Empires. An Egyptian vassal for approximately 150 years, Kadesh eventually defected to Hittite suzerainty
Suzerainty

Suzerainty is a situation in which a region or nation is a tributary state to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic Wiktionary:autonomy to control its foreign affairs....
, thereby placing the city on the contested frontier between the two rival empires. In response to this Hittite ascendancy and expansion southwards, the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II
Ramesses II

Ramesses II was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as Ancient Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh....
 prepared an aggressive military response and captured the coastal state of Amurru
Amurru

Amurru are names given in Akkadian language and Sumerian language texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names....
. The next year, the Hittites moved south to recover Amurru, while the Egyptians moved north to continue their expansion into Syria. The inhabitants of the city of Kadesh had cut a channel from the river to a stream south of town, which had turned the town into a virtual island. The subsequent battle, fought at Kadesh, very nearly witnessed an Egyptian military disaster. After Hittite spies convinced the Egyptians that the Hittites were further away than they were, the Hittites surprised the Egyptians in their own camp. The Egyptian army was only saved by the arrival of a supporting force from coastal Amurru
Amurru

Amurru are names given in Akkadian language and Sumerian language texts to the god of the Amorite/Amurru people, often forming part of personal names....
. Ramesses II was able to recover the initiative, and the two armies withdrew in stalemate, both claiming victory. Kadesh, however, remained under Hittite overlordship, Amurru returned to the Hittite fold, and the Hittite army continued its conquests southward as far as Upi, the territory around Damascus.

The subsequent impasse between Egypt and Hatti ultimately led to what is now recognised as one of the earliest surviving international peace treaties, concluded several decades later between Ramesses II and his Hittite counterpart, Hattusili III
Hattusili III

Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire ca. 1267 ? 1237 BC . He was the fourth and last son of Mursili II. Mursili appointed Hattusili as priest of Sausga of Samuha, and Hattusili remained loyal to the "Ishtar of Samuha" to the end of his days....
.

The End of Kadesh

Kadesh vanishes from history after it was destroyed by the invading Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples

The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the Twentieth dy...
 in around 1178 BC.